When
Argyle hosts Celina at 7 tonight for the District 10-3A title, senior third
baseman Davis Coghlan will step to the plate as the Eagles’ leading hitter. But
unlike his teammates, he won’t be going home afterward.

Instead,
he’ll hop in the car with his parents and head to Texas A&M-Commerce for
the University Interscholastic League Class 3A Region II academic meet. He’ll
swap his bat and glove for a pair of calculators and attempt to advance to the
state meet.

For many
people, his weekend would seem more strenuous and stressful than what a typical
weekend is supposed to feel like.

But
Coghlan doesn’t fall into that category. Coghlan not only leads the Eagles in
batting average (.533 as of Monday), he leads his entire graduating class in
grade-point average as Argyle’s valedictorian.

And when
it comes to Coghlan’s character, Argyle coach Ricky Griffin can only smile and
gush with positive things.

“He’s
golden,” Griffin said. “He really is. You hope, when you have a kid that
talented athletically and he’s like that in the classroom, you almost expect
that. His parents have obviously done a great job. Athletically, I get to reap
the benefits. The UIL academics coach gets to reap the academic benefits.”

Coghlan’s
itinerary for the next two days includes a baseball game at 7 p.m., which means
he’ll get to his hotel in Commerce somewhere around midnight and be up at 6
a.m. for the academic meet that starts at 8 a.m.

Last
season, Coghlan couldn’t find his way into the starting lineup. This year, he’s
been the baseball team’s offensive catalyst.

“First of
all, I’m kicking myself for not hitting him last year more than I did,” Griffin
said. “We gave him a few pinch-hit at-bats, but we had no idea that he was
going to do that this year.”

Griffin
said Coghlan has anchored the middle of a lineup that’s propelled the team to
its 24-3 overall record and 6-1 district mark. When Coghlan started the year
hitting well, his head coach hoped it wasn’t a temporary hot streak.

“He just
hasn’t ever cooled off,” Griffin said. “He’s been able to hit the off-speed
pitch as well as the fastball, which is something we didn’t think he was able
to do last year, which is why we didn’t give him more time.”

His approach
at the plate is far different than his approach when he’s taking timed tests
for the math team and the calculator team.

“At the
plate, you try not to think,” Coghlan said. “You just try to rely on muscle
memory, I guess. And while I’m taking a test, I’m obviously thinking pretty
hard.

“I guess
in baseball the trick is to not think too much. Sometimes I’ll have that
problem — just overthinking and getting into my own head.”

It’s a
head covered in short, blond hair and a face that looks a little young for a
senior. That’s because he’s 17 and started school early.

Coghlan
is a member of Argyle’s mathematics team and calculator application team. He
didn’t plan on becoming a part of the academic teams. But once a teacher
discovered his knack for geometry after his freshman year, Coghlan was nudged
in the right direction.

Coghlan’s
parents let their young son read a lot, and he played many math-related
computer games. Of course, there was a little baseball mixed in.

His UIL
coach, Cliff McCurdy, said Coghlan is the fastest worker in the calculator
portion and second-fastest in math.

When
asked if there was a subject he struggled with, Coghlan paused before saying he
was “terrible” at art, a class he took as a freshman.

He
finished the year with a high B — the only B he said he’s ever received in high
school.

Along
with his excellent memory and ability to process things quickly, McCurdy said,
Coghlan will do what is asked of him.

“It’s
‘What do you need me to do today?’ and he’ll do exactly what you want him to do
the way he’s supposed to,” McCurdy said. “He doesn’t seem to get nervous. He
might internally a little bit, but he’s just a great kid. I think the coaches
say exactly the same thing.”

The
baseball coach and the math coach were in agreement regarding Coghlan’s
character and work ethic.

Coghlan’s
teammates will chide him occasionally when things don’t go his way. They joke
that the senior should be able to see angles from the ball that no one else
sees.

Coghlan
said Argyle assistant coach Jeff Harp jokingly calls him Neo, the whiz from the
The Matrix.

Teammate
Jared Byer said Coghlan is known more around school as the valedictorian and
not as the best hitter on the No. 4 team in Class 3A, according to the Texas
High School Baseball Coaches Association.

“I admire
him for it,” Byer said. “He’s talented at two things. It’s just who Davis is.”

He
doesn’t plan on playing baseball much longer. Instead, he’s planning on going
to Texas to study mechanical engineering.

“The math
stuff, it’s just going to help me down the road,” Coghlan said. “Baseball is to
have fun. It’s almost a stress reliever, playing baseball.”

After
most of his teammates cleared out of Argyle’s indoor practice facility Tuesday
afternoon, Coghlan grabbed a bat and stepped to the plate.

His head
coach sat behind a black protective netting and tossed underhanded pitches to
Coghlan.

No matter
how well he did or didn’t hit the ball, he kept his head down and looked off to
the side, never looking to see where the balls ended up.

It’s like
he already knew where they were headed.

BEN BABY can be reached at 940-566-6869 and
via Twitter at @Ben_Baby.

Comments

DentonRC.com is now using Facebook Comments. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then add your comment below. Your comment is subject to Facebook's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service on data use. If you don't want your comment to appear on Facebook, uncheck the 'Post to Facebook' box. To find out more, read the FAQ .